Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research

The Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research is given to honor the work of an active scientist in academia, industry or a scientific institute.

The Award

The Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research salutes the most passionate and creative scientists of our day. It serves as a tribute to Johnson & Johnson’s own Dr. Paul Janssen, whose legacy as one of the most productive scientists of the 20th century continues to inspire the company’s commitment to finding innovative cures for unmet medical needs. The Dr. Paul Janssen Award includes a $100,000 prize and acknowledges the work of an individual who has made a significant, transformational contribution toward the improvement of human health.

Johnson & Johnson created the award in 2004 with the following goals:

• To honor the memory of Janssen, his dedication to excellence and his leadership of young scientists
• To promote, recognize and reward passion and creativity in biomedical research
• To underscore Johnson & Johnson's commitment to scientific excellence in the advancement of healthcare knowledge, while fulfilling its responsibility in the community

Paul Adriaan Jan Janssen (1926 - 2003)

Known to his colleagues as “Dr. Paul,” Janssen was the founder of Janssen Pharmaceutica, N.V., a pharmaceutical research laboratory based in Beerse, Belgium, and a physician-scientist who helped save millions of lives through his contribution to the discovery and development of more than 80 medicines. His work was responsible for many breakthroughs in several fields of disease, including pain management, psychiatry, infectious disease and gastroenterology. In addition, he has more than 100 patents to his name.

The Selection Process

The Dr. Paul Janssen Award recipients are selected by an independent committee of internationally renowned scientists from leading academic and scientific institutions, whose own research contributions have resulted in critical advances in improving human health. The 2010 Selection Committee includes past Nobel Laureates, members of the National Academy of Sciences and previous winners of The Dr. Paul Janssen Award.

The Selection Committee chooses a scientist in basic or clinical research, who:

• Has made a significant contribution to research that has impacted, or has strong potential to impact, human health through the diagnosis, treatment or prevention of disease
• Exhibits the standards of innovation, insight and leadership that Janssen exemplified during his career
• Provides a living example that the study of science and technology can enable or has the potential to enable extended, healthy, productive life
• Displays a set of ethical values consistent with the Johnson & Johnson Credo and those values that guide Johnson & Johnson

The Dr. Paul Janssen Award can be given to a scientist in academia, government, industry, a private research institution or medical or clinical practice. It typically will recognize an individual scientist, but can be shared in circumstances in which the contributions of the nominees are viewed as being of similar importance.

Previous Recipients

• 2006
  In September 2006, Craig C. Mello, a professor of Molecular Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, was named the inaugural recipient of The Dr. Paul Janssen Award. Mello was selected for his role in the discovery of RNA interference (RNAi) and the elucidation of its biological functions

• 2008
  Professor Marc Feldmann, FMedSci, FAA, FRS and Emeritus Professor Sir Ravinder N. Maini, FRCP, FMedSci, FRS of The Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, Imperial College London, received the 2008 Dr. Paul Janssen Award for their role in the discovery of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, or TNF-alpha, as an effective therapeutic target for rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases.

• 2009
  Axel Ullrich, Ph.D., director of the Department of Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Germany, received the 2009 Dr. Paul Janssen Award for his pioneering work in applying molecular biology and molecular cloning to the discovery of protein therapeutics for the treatment of a wide range of diseases, including diabetes and cancer. Basic research in Ullrich’s laboratory led to the characterization of several medically relevant receptors of the tyrosine kinase family, including receptors for epidermal growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor. He demonstrated that these receptors are critically involved in human cancer and developed therapeutics based on these discoveries.

• 2010
  Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and Erik De Clercq, M.D., Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Rega Institute for Medical Research were awarded the 2010 Dr. Paul Janssen Award. Dr. Fauci received the award for his pioneering contributions to basic and clinical research in the areas of AIDS and other immunodeficiencies, both as a scientist and through his service as the Director of the NIAID. Dr. De Clercq was recognized for his landmark discoveries in anti-HIV medications, including nucleotide analogues, and inventions or co-inventions of several approved drugs for anti-viral therapy.

• 2011
  Napoleone Ferrara, M.D., Genentech Fellow, was selected as the 2011 Dr. Paul Janssen Award recipient for his research on angiogenesis, the process of new blood vessel formation that plays a key role in cancer proliferation and a number of other diseases. Dr. Ferrara’s discoveries opened the door to the development of a new class of therapeutics to combat a serious eye disorder and contributed to the development of new oncology therapeutics.

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  Panelists participate at the 2008 Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research Symposium at the New York Academy of Sciences in New York

External links

Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research
Johnson & Johnson
Craig Mello, Ph.D.
Imperial College London

The Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried near Munich